Victory (Penguin Classics)
by Joseph Conrad
published
November 1st 1995
(first published 1915)
by Penguin Classics
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binding
Paperback, 416 pages
isbn
0140189785
(isbn13: 9780140189780)
description
Heyst was not conscious of either friends or of enemies. It was the very essence of his life to be a solitary achievement, accomplished not by hermit-...more
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Read in July, 2004
Now and then, we must leave the literature of our day and delve deeper--in time and in literary style. Joseph Conrad has survived time as a classic, because his work is of classic quality. I submerged into Victory as into cool, deep water, to emerge refreshed and moved by the literary experience.
Woe, yes, to the man whose heart has not learned to hope or love (and is love without hope possible?) or trust in life. Without hope, without love, without trust, life is but a living death. Axel Heys...more
Woe, yes, to the man whose heart has not learned to hope or love (and is love without hope possible?) or trust in life. Without hope, without love, without trust, life is but a living death. Axel Heys...more
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Read in January, 2006
He had listened. Then, after a silence, he had asked--for he was really young then:
"Is there no guidance?"
His father was in an unexpectedly soft mood on that night, when the moon swam in a cloudless sky over the begrimed shadows of the town.
"You still believe in something, then?" he said in a clear voice, which had been growing feeble of late. "You believe in flesh and blood, perhaps? A full and equable contempt would soon do away with that, too. But since yo...more
"Is there no guidance?"
His father was in an unexpectedly soft mood on that night, when the moon swam in a cloudless sky over the begrimed shadows of the town.
"You still believe in something, then?" he said in a clear voice, which had been growing feeble of late. "You believe in flesh and blood, perhaps? A full and equable contempt would soon do away with that, too. But since yo...more
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Read in October, 2007
I could not find an image of the copy of this book that I am reading, which has the grooviest minimalist 1920's cover illustration (by Edward Gorey). I love the covers of those early paperbacks,and honestly, can not separate the literary contents of the book from the musty brilliance(and aroma)of those old editions.
This book has great characters, exotic atmosphere and a fantastic plot. Woven into this are philosophical themes expressed with great restraint. It reminds me a bit of th...more
This book has great characters, exotic atmosphere and a fantastic plot. Woven into this are philosophical themes expressed with great restraint. It reminds me a bit of th...more
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An enjoyable Conrad book, not as good as Lord Jim, not as hard to follow as many. Fun, mostly.
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I share deeply the hiden fear of Conrad where he was always in doubt if he could express himself in a proper way through another langauge than his motherland’s. That’s terrible.
پیروزی هم برای کنراد موفقیت آورد اما پس از دل تاریکی کنراد دیگر شاهکاری نیافرید.
این کتاب با ترجمه ی هرمز داورپناه در سال 1374 چاپ و منتشر شده است
یکی از آخرین کارهای کنراد ...more
پیروزی هم برای کنراد موفقیت آورد اما پس از دل تاریکی کنراد دیگر شاهکاری نیافرید.
این کتاب با ترجمه ی هرمز داورپناه در سال 1374 چاپ و منتشر شده است
یکی از آخرین کارهای کنراد ...more
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Conrad's later novels are not recognizably the work of the author of Lord Jim or Nostromo. He's a much more approachable writer, using short paragraphs and searching for something like quirkiness rather than the depths of depravity or guilt or what have you. That said, Victory is really enjoyable - with a nice, suspenseful plot, some giddy melodrama, and memorable (male) characters. Added bonus: obsessive Bob Dylan fans will already know the plot - or rather a Dylan-esque riff on it - from th...more
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a love story, rare for conrad, and, not rare--the forces arrayed against it, malignancy of human forces in their decayed forms, implacability of Nature--
an astonishingly beautiful book and one of the very few love stories written without any of the usual tropes--
very few writers are able to make palpable in the very air one breathes the sense of forces of oppression, constraints, the cruelty imposed in both "rational" and irrational ways on humans by other humans--
an astonishingly beautiful book and one of the very few love stories written without any of the usual tropes--
very few writers are able to make palpable in the very air one breathes the sense of forces of oppression, constraints, the cruelty imposed in both "rational" and irrational ways on humans by other humans--
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Read in August, 2007
I love Conrad but this is not my favourite. The characterisation is stunning, Heyst's repression, disenchantment and longing are palpable and the villains are the best villains you'll read in a long time. The first two thirds is wonderful, rich, beautifully written but as soon as the romantic allusions start it suddenly gets stiff and mawkish and frankly unbelievable. Lena as a character and her dialogue is just not believable.
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Read in October, 2007
Overall, a pretty good read. The first three parts are great. But after a while, the action drags through long winded pseudo-philosophical discussions between characters who haven't "earned" them. Most of the dialogue between Heyst and Alma in the latter part of the book seems especially "stuffed". And ultimately, it's a bit anti-climactic, I think. But, give it a try. Maybe I read through it too quickly.
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Read in October, 2008
A book about how one man's decision to help others leads to murder and suicide.
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I found the beginning of this book a little slow and disjointed. I almost put it down but fortunately kept reading. The second half of this book is more engaging than the first and more "exciting". It is a romance story including a battle between good and evil and the ultimate sacrifice for love. If you read Victory be patient and you may end up enjoying the story.
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